Volunteers at Rummage Sale Find $1,000 in Donated Clothing

Two volunteers at Las Palmas Senior Center in Hollywood are still glowing about finding $1,000 in cash stuffed into donated clothing--and in tracking down its rightful owner.

Nina Keats, 85, was sorting donated clothing recently, including a pair of women’s underwear with a curious bulge, for an upcoming center rummage sale.

“I was curious what could be in there,” she said.

When Keats discovered two plastic bags filled with large-denomination bills, she took her find over to friend Goldie Sonnenfeld, 78.

“Goldie didn’t say anything, but her eyes got bigger,” Keats said.

The friends counted out $1,000, which Keats promptly stuffed into her canvas bag for safekeeping. Then, they continued sorting clothes and--amid the same pile--came across an envelope with Claire Wee’s name on it.

The volunteers looked up Wee’s number and called.

Recalls Wee, “They left a mysterious message on my answering machine saying they had found something, but they didn’t say what. So, when I drove down to the home, I was really surprised when I saw that much money.”

Wee’s elderly mother had been visiting from Singapore, and had died in Wee’s house. “She had thought [her underwear] was the safest place to hide money,” Wee said.

Unaware that her mother had left anything behind, Wee had simply donated the clothes to the senior center.

Said Sonnenfeld: “The older you get, the less acquisitive you become. I’ve already given my kids all my silver and crystal. So, what would I do with it? And Nina feels the same way.”

Now, said Wee, the money is safely in the bank.